A Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Immunization of Children in Urban Slums of Bijapur City, Karnataka, India

Background: The immunization coverage is not uniform in India. In Karnataka, except for Uttar Kannada District (very high immunization coverage of 95%) and 14 districts that have shown a better immunization coverage (> 85% coverage), the remaining 15 districts (including Bijapur District) have poor coverage. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 2002 report on Bijapur district shows that only a little over one fourth of the children were fully immunized (25.8%). The state's fully vaccinated figure was more than two and a half times higher than that of the district. In this prevailing scenario, it becomes the need of the hour to find factors which influence routine immunization in Bijapur district, which will help the planners in implementing the immunization programme in a better way, to achieve > 85% coverage. Objectives: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of respondents among guardians of children aged 12-23 months with respect to immunization. Material and Methods: A community based, cross-sectional study was conducted in the urban slums of Bijapur city, India. Out of the 20 enlisted slums, 7 slums were chosen by using convenience sampling. House to house survey was done. After obtaining oral consents, information regarding knowledge, attitude and practices was collected by using a semi-structured proforma. Results: A total of 155 mothers/ responsible guardians of children in the age group of 12 to 23 months were included in the study. Children of 54 out of 155 respondents (34.84%) were fully immunized, 97 (62.58%) were partially immunized and 4 (2.58%) were unimmunized. The main reason for partial and nonimmunization was found to be lack of information. Conclusion: Immunization coverage in the urban slums of Bijapur is still way short of the 85% coverage mark. A lack of information and motivation among the parents is the main reason for this dismal scenario, that needs to be rectified at the earliest.